The sunset painted the sky red, with the twilight reflecting in the lake, the water shimmering as if ablaze.
When Shen Koudan found Jiang Xiaosi, she was lying on the grassy shore, as if lifeless. Her heartbeat had almost stopped. Shen Koudan rushed to her side, finding her body at a normal temperature, and still breathing.
“Xiaosi, wake up, Xiaosi…”
She wasn’t sure how long it had been since Jiang Xiaosi had taken the medicine, as the fragrance of Tuogu Xiang lingering on her body was already faint. Logically, since Jiang Xiaosi was half-human, her chances of success should be much higher than an ordinary zombie’s.
Jiang Xiaosi slowly opened her eyes, staring blankly ahead, her face filled with confusion.
Seeing her awake, Shen Koudan was overjoyed. “Xiaosi! How are you? Do you still recognize me?”
Jiang Xiaosi felt as though she had just been pulled out of a washing machine’s drum, her entire body feeling as if every cell had been reassembled. It took a while before her vision could focus.
The setting sun bathed her face in light, and she could feel the blood in every vein flowing joyfully beneath her skin. Her senses seemed heightened yet fragile, and even the slightest breeze caused a tremor. The world seemed different now—brighter, more expansive—while she felt as small and insignificant as a speck of dust.
“Koudan Jie…”
Jiang Xiaosi reached up to touch her face, relieved to find that her nose and eyes were still intact and that she hadn’t turned into a monster.
“I’m not dead?”
“No, you’re not dead. You’re alive…” Shen Koudan’s voice was filled with excitement as she carefully checked Jiang Xiaosi’s limbs and bones.
“You can see me?” Jiang Xiaosi was almost ecstatic.
“Yes, I can see you. Xiaosi, hold on a second.” Shen Koudan made a small cut on the back of Jiang Xiaosi’s hand, and when blood flowed out without any signs of healing, she drew some talismans, and Jiang Xiaosi no longer feared them.
“Xiaosi! It worked, it worked!” Shen Koudan hugged her and spun her around, almost shouting in joy.
“Really?” Jiang Xiaosi looked at her hands in disbelief. Did it really work? Was she now fully human? Could she grow at a normal rate? No longer needing the pearl to hide her identity?
“Xiaosi, don’t ever do this again. Your dad was worried to death.”
Jiang Xiaosi nodded vigorously, tears of joy streaming down her face.
“Xiaosi!”
A voice called out from a distance—it was Jiang Liu, rushing over.
“Dad! It worked!” Jiang Xiaosi threw herself into his arms, and Jiang Liu held her tightly, nearly squeezing the life out of her.
“You scared me to death!” Jiang Liu was still shaken, wishing he could give her a good scolding. How dare she leave him and take such a dangerous risk on her own?
Jiang Xiaosi trembled with excitement. “Dad, I’m human now, I’m human!”
A wave of sadness washed over Jiang Liu’s heart. She had never given up, and for the sake of Shen Mo, she was willing to become an ordinary person. But this also meant that he could only accompany her for a limited time, watching over her as she lived out her mortal life.
But if this made her happy…
“We can’t be sure it’s fully successful yet. We’ll need to monitor you carefully for a while.” But as long as she successfully crossed that hurdle, the rest would be manageable.
Jiang Xiaosi nodded earnestly. She suddenly wanted to see Shen Mo. But if she saw him, what should she say? Would he accept her now that she was human again?
Just as she was feeling nervous, someone hurried over. Dressed in pitch-black, it was Shen Mo.
Jiang Xiaosi bit her lip, nearly overwhelmed with tears of joy at seeing him again after surviving such an ordeal.
“Uncle, Xiaosi did it! She succeeded!” Shen Koudan cheered like a child.
“Succeeded?” Shen Mo mumbled mechanically, the despair and sorrow slowly fading from his tightly knit brow. He looked at Shen Koudan and Jiang Liu with a mixture of disbelief and hope.
“Shen Mo, I’m not a zombie anymore. You can’t reject me now!” Jiang Xiaosi wiped her nose, torn between crying and laughing.
Things had come this far, and Jiang Liu could only let go and compromise.
“Shen Mo, Xiaosi risked her life for you. If you ever let her down again, I won’t let you off!”
Shen Mo’s gaze flitted between Jiang Liu and Shen Koudan, then scanned his surroundings again. Say whatever you want, but could someone first tell him—
Where was Jiang Xiaosi?
Shen Koudan was the first to sense something was wrong, her back tingling with unease.
“Uncle! What are you looking for?”
Cold sweat began to drip down Shen Mo’s forehead as he struggled to speak, each word heavy with dread. “Where… is Jiang Xiaosi right now?”
The three of them were stunned.
“Shen Mo, I’m right here!” Jiang Xiaosi stood right in front of him, looking up at him. Yet, Shen Mo continued staring off into the distance, as if she wasn’t there.
“Uncle, Jiang Xiaosi is right in front of you!” Shen Koudan shouted in fear.
“Right in front of me? Koudan, what are you saying? Don’t scare me…”
A wave of overwhelming fear consumed Shen Mo as he slowly extended his hand to confirm, only to find nothing but empty space in front of him.
Jiang Xiaosi looked in disbelief as Shen Mo’s hand passed through her body as if she were nothing more than a transparent wisp of a soul.
“Shen Mo!” She shouted, but Shen Mo didn’t respond. He couldn’t hear her? He couldn’t see her?
Jiang Xiaosi desperately tried to embrace him, but she passed right through his body and stumbled forward.
What was happening? She had become human again, so how could she be invisible to him? Again and again, she tried to touch him, but it was all in vain.
Shen Koudan covered her mouth, watching them in despair. She and Jiang Liu could both see and touch Jiang Xiaosi—why couldn’t Shen Mo?
Shen Mo could smell the faint scent of Tuogu Xiang mixed with the familiar, sweet candy-like scent that always clung to Jiang Xiaosi.
He knew she was nearby, but why couldn’t he see her? Hadn’t she succeeded?
His mind was crumbling, his thoughts swirling in a dizzying haze. He could barely stand.
“Jiang Xiaosi…” Shen Mo roared in frustration.
“I’m here, I’m here…” Jiang Xiaosi sobbed, repeatedly trying to grasp his hand, only to feel the cold wind slip through her fingers. To her, Shen Mo had once again become an unreachable mirage, something she could only gaze at but never touch.
Jiang Liu could only hold the sobbing Jiang Xiaosi, whispering words of comfort.
“The medicine must have some side effects. Shen Mo can’t see you. Don’t worry, we’ll go back and figure this out. There must be a solution.”
Shen Mo watched in horror as Jiang Liu spoke to the empty air in front of him, holding onto something invisible. Why? Why was he the only one who couldn’t see her?
“Uncle, Xiaosi says don’t worry…” Shen Koudan relayed the message.
Shen Mo’s mind was in utter chaos. Jiang Xiaosi could see him, but he couldn’t see her. Was this like what happened with Su Bi—would it happen at certain times, or would it be permanent? Was it something that only affected him, or perhaps people with RH blood types?
The four of them stayed in Tuogu Xiang for three days and nights, and in the end, it was confirmed that Jiang Xiaosi’s transformation into a human had been quite successful. Her body’s indicators were all normal. The only exception was that Shen Mo still couldn’t see her, even though everyone else could.
Shen Mo was deeply shaken. No matter how much he had prepared himself, he never imagined something like this would happen. Shen Koudan urged him to rest, but as soon as he left Tuogu Xiang, Jiang Xiaosi collapsed, convulsing in Jiang Liu’s arms, her face pale.
“Dad, I don’t feel well…”
“What’s wrong?” Jiang Liu was terrified. Everything had seemed to return to normal—could there still be side effects they hadn’t discovered?
Jiang Xiaosi felt as if someone had ripped her heart out of her chest and taken it far away. She stood up uncontrollably, like a puppet being manipulated, staggering in the direction Shen Mo had gone.
Shen Koudan quickly called Shen Mo back. Strangely enough, as soon as Jiang Xiaosi saw him, the discomfort vanished. After a few experiments, they discovered that Jiang Xiaosi couldn’t stray more than ten meters from Shen Mo. If she did, she would experience excruciating pain, as if she were being tortured. No matter where Shen Mo went, her body would uncontrollably follow him, seeking him out.
Everyone’s faces turned grim. This meant that Jiang Xiaosi would have to stay within ten meters of Shen Mo at all times, even though he couldn’t see her.
“Could it be because I drank Shen Mo’s blood?” Jiang Xiaosi curled up in despair. She had wanted to become human so she could be with Shen Mo, but instead, she had turned into an invisible ghost, unable to leave his side yet unseen by him.
Jiang Liu stroked her hair, trying to comfort her. “We don’t know the cause yet, but your dad will find a solution.”
Maybe it was because Jiang Xiaosi loved Shen Mo, and she had taken the Tuogu Xiang for him, all the while thinking of him. Maybe that’s why she became bound to him, unable to leave his side. Or maybe it was because Shen Mo had said he didn’t want to see her anymore, and now he truly couldn’t…
“Shen Mo, could you stay at Tuogu Xiang for a few days? Koudan and I will run some more tests on Xiaosi.”
But what about after that? Would Jiang Xiaosi become a shadow, forever following Shen Mo wherever he went? No one voiced this concern, but the heavy clouds of dread hung over them all.
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